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TEXAS MOTORS FORD

Challenge:
In 2002, Tarrant County’s largest family-owned Ford dealership faced a tremendous challenge, and an equally large opportunity: It was moving from its location of more than 30 years. The dealership wanted a new marketing look to go with its new facility, plus needed to increase awareness among customers and prospects following the move.

Strategy:
The campaign first broke as print ads designed to help the dealership clear inventory before the move, and evolved into direct mail postcards, radio and television ads, outdoor boards and sales support collateral (brochures, flyers and coupons). Witherspoon also created marketing materials to support several Texas Motors promotions, like Free Tires For Life and the X-Plan, a preferred buyer program for Ford fleet customers.

Solution:
Witherspoon reviewed dozens of competitive automotive print, broadcast, direct mail and outdoor campaigns, and then invented a series of design templates for Texas Motors Ford to give its marketing materials a fresh, clean “look and feel,” complete with a unique copy approach that relied on clever word play to attract attention.

Results:
Texas Motors for continues to maintain its distinctive creative presence in the marketplace five years after Witherspoon created it, and it consistently ranks among the top two or three Ford dealers within its region. The Tires For Life Program sparked a sizeable sales increase during its first year, and on the X-Plan front Texas Motors was the No. 1 dealer selling to employees of Lockheed Martin (the largest
X-Plan participant in Tarrant County) in 2004.